Jordan union leaders head to Gaza via Rafah crossing

Jun 25, 2010, 18:29 GMT

Amman - A delegation comprising 14 Jordanian trade union leaders left Amman en route to the Gaza Strip through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing Friday, to express solidarity Palestinians living under blockade there.

'We are carrying with us a message of solidarity on behalf of the Jordanian people with 1.5 million Gazans who are suffering from the inhuman and unjust Israeli blockade,' chairman of the Trade Unions Council Ahmad Armouti told reporters before departure.

He urged the world community to 'shoulder its responsibilities in lifting the blockade', demanding the trial of Israeli leaders for 'the crimes they had committed against the Palestinian people'.

Armouti said that during its three-day visit to the Gaza Strip, the Jordanian delegation will try to retain the international momentum in favour of breaking the Gaza siege that was created by the Freedom Flotilla, which was attacked by Israeli forces in the Mediterranean at the end of May.

On Thursday, Armouti and other prominent unionists visited the French embassy in Amman where they delivered a message addressed to the French President Nicolas Sarkozy asking him to go back on a plan to stop the broadcasting of Gaza's al-Aqsa television, which goes on air through the French satellite, Eutelsat.